Greatest Gift Ever
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Musaki turns 17 years old and the Five and Po compete against each other to see who gets the best gift for him and all Musaki wants is to celebrate it with his loved ones. Will it be the best birthday he'll remember? One way to find out...
1. Excited About Being 17

This came to me for sometime now and I just felt that Musaki wants to celebrate his coming of age; turning 17. The one thing that he wants the most for his birthday is celebrating it with his family and friends. But...what if the Five (minus Viper) and Po compete against each other to get a better gift for Musaki? So...this is what I had in mind. With a little help from my awesome friend Joe 'Po' Navark, this story is made possible. Hope ya like!

* * *

Greatest Gift Ever

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Excited About Being 17

It was a typical Sunday morning in the Jade Palace where everything's peaceful and quiet all around, so much so that a certain sound of the flute comes around out of nowhere. At the top of the Sacred Peach Tree is where Musaki plays his flute, just to bring in his peaceful state of mind for a certain event that's coming his way...which is his birthday.

Though his birthday is nearly five days away, he's definitely looking forward to being older and is almost on the verge of reaching into adulthood soon.

After he got done playing with his flute, Musaki looks up at the sky and just imagined what it would've been like for his parents to see him grow up and reach a very potential age.

Musaki lets out a heavy sigh and whispered, "Mom, dad...now that I'm getting older, I feel as if I'm taking in whatever has happened in my life for the past couple of years and even though you're not here, I can still feel a part of you in my heart. I just hope you guys could see me now...17 years of age. If I hadn't have been saved by Tai Lung nearly 14 years ago, I probably wouldn't even be here...so thank you."

It definitely gave him a different perspective on what he would eventually want for his birthday...celebrating it with friends and family and just embrace life even as he grows into an adult soon.

Later as he walked towards the barracks, he walks into the kitchen where he sees the masters having their meals and Mantis looks up and immediaely hopped onto his shoulder and said, "How's it going, soon-to-be- birthday guy?"

Musaki lets out a small chuckle at this and he said, "Pretty good, I guess."

Viper lets out a smile and asked, "So, how does it feel to be 17?"

Musaki took a deep sigh of nervousness and excitement and replied, "I don't know. I mean, I've only got like a week left until I reach this potential age."

Po could amazingly see how much Musaki has grown so much over the years and he could still see the same kid that was timid and shy back when he was 13 and was first adopted to the Jade palace and he could still see that kid on his mind and for him to grow up to who he is now really made him think that he's matured a lot. He said, "Guess I'm gonna have to stop calling you Lil' Saki because you're not so little anymore."

Musaki lets out an amused sigh for that one and said, "Please don't. I'm always gonna be your Lil' Saki to you and you guys."

"So...are you thinking about what kind of gifts you want for your birthday?" asked Crane.

Musaki looked at Crane in the eye and he said, "Not really. I don't think it would matter what kind of gifts I would actually want."

That remark shocked the masters to the full extent as if Musaki cursed them out for the first time and shouted, "WHAT?"

"Saki...are you saying that you don't want any gifts this year?" asked Monkey, in a shocked yet surprised tone.

Musaki was hesitant to respond back to it and he only said, "I didn't say that exactly. All I'm saying is that I just don't want to make a big deal about what I want for my birthday."

"But you're nearly 17! You should be able to get some awesome gifts that other 17-year olds would want!" Po exclaimed.

"It's not that you guys should do anything for me. I just don't want you to...you know, overdo it."

Viper looked at Musaki for a second and said, "We would never overdo anything special on your special day."

"I know you wouldn't and I know Crane wouldn't either. Everyone else...not so sure."

Just then, Shifu comes in the kitchen and he said, "Musaki, may I see you for a moment, please?"

"Sure."

Musaki got up from the table and went with Shifu for a little talk, leaving the others planning to think about gifts for Musaki. Po was the first one to say, "We have got to think of something for to get for Lil' Saki."

"I thought you said that you'd stop calling him that." Tigress added.

Po rolled his eyes at her and said, "Not helping if you're gonna remember everything I say. I'm thinking about giving him my Kwan the unkillable lunchbox with authenic old milk smell."

Monkey groans in disgust about that thought and he said, "What, you want him to go into an early grave with old milk smell? Besides, he has never even heard of Kwan before."

Po gasped in horror thinking about that and he said, "I'll take him to a Kwan show then. Maybe then, he'll be a fan of him and I'll convince him to sign his belly."

"Oh...no way. Not gonna happen, Po. I still have nightmares about that Bai Li...with the nose." Crane shuddered.

Viper rolled her eyes at Crane's worriness and said, "And yet you still think her eyes are attractive."

"Hey, it was my first attempt at true love." Crane argued.

"You got any bright ideas, Crane?" asked Po.

Crane thought about it for a second and he said, "I'll give him a calligraphy art kit."

Monkey yawns at that idea and said in a singsong-y voice, "Bor-ing."

Crane quickly glared at Monkey, as if he was offended by that remark and said, "Calligraphy is not boring. It's creative, relaxing and helps you learn chinese symbols."

"Which is still boring."

Crane scoffs at him and said, "What do you know about good art? And if you're so smart, you think of something."

Monkey stood on the table and said, "Okay...the perfect gift for Musaki would be...a full prank collection! Mounds and mounds and mounds of perfect pranks to trick even the most unsuspecting victim...for example, if I were to place a spider on top of Tigress' head, thinking it's a real one, she'd flip out."

"Yeah, I don't think Musaki would go for that one." Viper added.

"Plus, if you even plan to use that trick, the joke will be on you when you spar with me for a full month." Tigress snarled, with much venom as she could mound on.

Monkey shook his head at her and said, "Can't even take a joke. And I suppose you know a better present."

"As a matter of fact, I do. I'll just give him some fresh clothes." Tigress said.

The reaction in the room as a certain glare that reads 'really?' when she came up with that idea and Mantis asked, "Just clothes? That's it?"

"Yeah." Tigress replied.

Mantis groans in disgust and then said, "The better present I would give to Lil' Saki is an acupuncture kit. Perfect way to teach himself the art of acupuncture and maybe use it on anyway that needs to find their facial nerve."

"You do know Musaki hates needles, right?" asked Po.

"Eh, he'll outgrow it."

Viper sighed at this and she said, "Honestly, in all respects, does it really matter who's present Musaki would like is better?"

"Yes!" they all exclaimed.

Viper felt like this was gonna turn ugly at any moment and she said, "You guys can count me out of this one."

She quickly slithered up out of here but not before Mantis asked, "So what are you thinking of getting Musaki for his birthday present?"

She quickly turned to him and said, "What I'm getting him is my own biz."

Po whistles at that remark Viper said and told him, "Viper, one...Mantis, zip...which is which all of your scores will be when I give Musaki the best present he'll ever have."

Monkey stands up and said, "I disagree with that. I'll give him the better present."

"And me too!" Mantis added.

"I'm sensing a challenge coming in and I would be glad to participate because come next week, I'll give Musaki a present that will be way better than yours!" Tigress exclaimed.

"You're on!" they all exclaimed.

* * *

Awesome beginning, huh? Next, Shifu discusses coming of age with Musaki. Hope ya enjoy it because this is only the beginning.


	2. Coming of Age Tale

Shifu tells Musaki about coming of age...him turning 17 and whatnot.

* * *

Chapter 2: Coming of Age Tale

Later that day, Shifu takes Musaki to the Dragon Grotto for a while and Musaki wasn't sure what was gonna happen next and then, Shifu jumps into the top of Oogway's staff and he looked at him and said, "Please, sit."

Musaki sat down on the ground and he was still nervous about what Shifu might say and then he asked, "What did you want to talk to me about, master?"

Shifu stared at Musaki for a second and he lets out a deep sigh and said, "I would like to tell you about your coming of age."

Musaki was very confused by that statement Shifu just said and asked, "Coming of age?"

"Yes. As we all know, in just one week...you're turning 17. I decided that now would be a good time to discuss about that certain age. As you grow into a young adult, you have a little more freedom and responsibility and a great stage in your life. Even though you're still a kid, you're about to blossom into a fully grown adult someday." Shifu said.

Musaki was a little skeptical about being close to leaving behind the teen years for a step into adulthood and he asked, "Is that a godo thing or a bad thing?"

"It's a very good thing. It's just that you're leaving childhood behind as you mature into an adult soon."

"Okay." Musaki said, nervously.

Shifu could see that Musaki's a little nervous about being an adult and he completely understood where he's coming from and said, "Musaki, I understand what you're going through. Everyone's a little afraid about being in this stage. I remember when I was young, I was about to turn 17 and I wasn't sure how I can handle adulthood because I felt like I had so much to learn before I even grow up, but Master Oogway advised me that there is still plenty to learn as I grow older and there will be great experiences along the way; wisdom, energy and a chance to embrace a different perspective on life."

Musaki is slowly starting to understand what he said by that and he asked, "So...am I gonna forget the memories I had when I was young?"

"Oh, no. Those memories will stay with you forever. You can share those with your own kids and make some new memories even as you grow older, so much so that you can also look back and reminisce any memory you have." Shifu said.

"Guess you're right."

Shifu took a deep sigh and reminisced those times when Musaki first came into the Jade Palace after being adopted at the age of 13, transitioning from being shy and timid to being who he is now...a young man. Musaki noticed Shifu staring at him and asked, "Shifu?"

"Oh, sorry. It's just that...4 years ago, when you first came here, you were just a kid...a simple orphan that was grieving over the loss of your parents after being killed by Tai Lung when you were three and over the years, you've matured a lot. You've gotten stronger, wiser, well-skilled and because of that, I've seen you grow into the person you are now." Shifu added.

Musaki was smiling after hearing something come out of Shifu and he asked, "You still see me as the person I was 4 years ago, huh?"

Shifu lets out another sigh and said, "Every day. You were like a son to me...the son that I never had before; so full of life, happiness, joy and a heart as pure as gold. I hope those traits will stay with you even as you grow older. I just hope that one day...my students will be just like you...and me too."

Shifu comes over to him and gives him a huge hug and Musaki graciously accepted it. Then, Shifu said, "I'm sure your parents would be proud of you...for becoming who you are right now."

HEaring that made Musaki's heart grow a little and he said, "I was thinking the same thing."

At that point, Musaki was definitely looking forward to turn 17 pretty soon and the best thing about it is that he'll celebrate it with the people he loves most.

'I hope the guys won't make a huge ordeal on my birthday.' Musaki thought.

* * *

Pretty awesome, huh? More on the way!


	3. How Does It Feel?

A little moment between Musaki and Arizona about Musaki turning 17.

* * *

Chapter 3: How Does It Feel?

Musaki walked his way back to the palace, thinking over what Shifu said about coming of age and that he never really thought that Shifu would still see him as that 13 year old timid orphan when he first came in the palace and was impressed by how far he had come. He just couldn't believe how lucky he is to become who he is right now, since he has grown a lot.

He sat down on the palace steps, contemplating over the past 4 years of his life and now that he's reaching 17, he's definitely excited about his birthday and how excited he'll be to celebrate it surrounded by friends and family.

"Hey, birthday panda."

Just then, Musaki turned around and sees Arizona coming in behind him, just sitting down next to him and he could tell that Musaki is getting really excited about this special day coming up. Arizona looked at him and asked, "How does it feel to turn 17?"

Musaki took a deep sigh and replied, "Best feeling ever. Can you believe that I'm almost gonna be an adult soon?"

"I can hardly believe it. You know, in a few months, I'll be 18." Arizona added.

Musaki's eyes widened after hearing this come out of Arizona's mouth and said, "Man, I gotta keep up with ya, don't I?"

Arizona lets out a chuckle at that remark and he said, "Yeah, I can't believe I'm actually gonna be an adult. I've pretty much missed out on my teen years since Dai Ling held me captive for years. I never really got to enjoy it...until last year when you brought me here."

Hearing that made Musaki feel good inside of him to see that Arizona owed it all to him for living a really great life that he missed out on. Arizona then went on to say, "Just almost a year, I was living in unspeakable torment that would scar me for the rest of my life, just living with Dai Ling and his stupid comrades. There were so many things I wanted to do just to get out of there and here I am...nearly 10 months later, look at how far I came and you made it happen for me, man."

"Aw, thanks." Musaki said.

Arizona patted his shoulder and said, "I wanna do something for you on your birthday...something to say thank you for."

Musaki chuckled softly and said, "I appreciate that, but let's not go overboard. You don't have to do anything for me."

"But I have to. It's just a way to show my gratitude for what you gave me since you rescued me from Dai Ling and gave me the strength to put an end to Kong Wolf's suffering." Arizona said.

Just looking into Arizona's eyes meant that he was really sincere and wanted to do whatever he can to make it special for Musaki's birthday. He lets out a heavy sigh and said, "You wanna do this for me, don't ya?"

Arizona nodded his head at this question and all Musaki could do is just accept that and he said, "All right. Just try not to overdo it, okay?"

"You won't be disappointed." Arizona said, happily.

Just then, Viper comes slithering into the stairs and stops to have a quick chat with Musaki for a bit and she asked, "What would you want for your birthday?"

Musaki sighed exasperatedly at this question and he responded, "Just to celebrate it with the people I love. That's pretty much what I want for my birthday."

Viper could tell that she was touched by what he said just felt like celebrating it with loved ones is a better present than anything else. She then said, "That's a good thing. At least I won't have to worry about how the others will do."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Arizona, confusedly.

She lets out an amused chuckle and said, "They're just debating over who's gonna get the greatest gift and I heard that they're like challenging each other for it to make Saki's birthday special."

Hearing that made Musaki really surprised and also a little confused by how far they'll go to just compete with what gift they'll get. He scoffed and asked, "Since when is getting an awesome birthday present considered a competition?"

"I know, right? But don't worry; I'm staying out of it." Viper said, with assurance.

Musaki nodded his head and then just smiled for a while and said, "When this week is over, I will officially reach the end of my teen years...at least for one more year anyway."

"But you've got plenty of time to be an adult. Just enjoy it while you can." Viper said, smiling.

"I will." Musaki replied.

* * *

Next up, Musaki sends out invites to his best buds!


	4. Invitations

And the invites come flying in!

* * *

Chapter 4: Invitations

The next day, Musaki was walking down towards parts of the Valley of Peace, knowing that it's only six more days until his 17th birthday comes along and he was thinking about who he'll invite on that special day. He brought out his list of invitations of whomever's gonna attend there and he knows that it might be held at the Jade Palace soon.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to look far for he saw his friends Kendall, Naomi, James and Spencer heading their way to Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop and is pretty much unsurprised that Kendall and Naomi are holding hands together. He caught up with them as he went inside and said, "Hey, guys."

Naomi turned around and sees Musaki coming in and she immediately came over and embraced him with a hug and said, "Hey, Musaki. Heard you're turning 17."

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're hugging, Saki-man." Kendall said, in a joking manner.

Musaki chuckled softly at that and he said, "What up, K.D?"

They both did their handshake/high-five greeting together and hugged each other as well and James and Spencer were next as well and Musaki said, "How are all you guys?"

"Doing really awesome. You know, Arizona told us that you're having a birthday in a couple of days and we just wanna know if we're invited?" asked Spencer.

Musaki lets out a sly chuckle and in his hand, popped out four invitations for each of them and asked, "What do ya think these cards say?"

They didn't even have to respond to that question because they already know they're invited and all of them got their invitations and James said, "Man, you really know us that well."

"Hey, you guys are my friends. My best buds." Musaki added.

Kendall lets out a smile and asked, "How does it feel to turn 17?"

Musaki takes a deep exhale on that question and he responded, "I don't know. It's like...I'm stepping out on being a kid and headed for adulthood soon. I am excited, but I'm also a little nervous."

Kendall understood where he's coming from with that particular coming of age thing and he said, "Take it from someone who's actually 17. I used to feel that way too, but my aunt and uncle told me to make those last moments of being a kid count because you can only be a kid once and when you hit 18, you'll gracefully grow into an adult. But one thing you'll never do...never lose those childhood memories you have for they'll always stay with you when you have your own kids."

Musaki was surprised to hear Kendall being so wise as if it was something that Master Shifu would normally say and he asked, "Did you get it from one of Master Oogway's scrolls without us knowing it?"

James and Spencer started laughing at that and Kendall just shook it off like it was nothing and said, "Just advice."

Naomi came over to him and said, "We'd love to come to your birthday. I gotta say, you're what I consider like a great friend to me, my boyfriend and these two."

"Yep. And if anyone of those bullies you had to deal with come crashing to my party, they'll have to answer to my other friends; Brute and Strength." Musaki added.

Spencer was confused with that one and asked, "Who's Brute and Strength?"

With that, Musaki showed Spencer his sais and twirls them around just to show that he's not playing around if there's party crashers coming in. Naomi looked surprised to see this come out of him, but was grateful to have them around him. She said, "I like them already."

"They've got me through some crazy stuff since I've been here and in case any peril or threat comes our path, this is what I'll use...if necessary." Musaki added.

All of them started laughing and Kendall said, "We'll be there for your birthday. Where's it gonna be?"

"In the Jade Palace, hopefully."

"We'll show up!" James and Spencer shouted, in unison.

Naomi then asked him, "What should we wear?"

Musaki laughed at this and said, "Just come as you are. Nothing formal."

"We can do that." Kendall added.

Later on, Musaki walked around parts of the Valley and he sees a certain badger walking past his way and he could recognize him anywhere and he turns around and said, "Hey, Jo."

Jo turns around and sees Musaki and said, "Hey, Musaki. How's it going?"

Musaki chuckled softly and replied, "Doing well. You?"

"Just fine, I guess."

Musaki got down to him and he said, "Hey, I'm having a birthday this week and I'm inviting you over to celebrate it with me and some of my friends and family."

Just hearing that made Jo completely excited about that and he said, "Absoultely. When is it?"

"Sunday."

Musaki then gave Jo the invitation card and Jo said to him, "I'll be there!"

"Thanks, Jo! It'll be lots of fun!" Musaki exclaimed.

"See ya then!"

After that, Musaki went around the bookstore and no surprise, he saw Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren, Shiissaa, Xiamou hanging around the manga section and Ichi noticed him heading this way and he said, "Musaki, how's it hanging?"

"Pretty good. What are all you guys doing this Sunday?" asked Musaki.

All of them looked at each other and wasn't sure what they got for this Sunday and Fu responded, "I don't think we got anything then."

Almost immediately, Musaki brought out six invitation cards and he said, "Guess who's having a birthday that day?"

Then it hit them...that day is Musaki's birthday. Ren gasped in shock after he heard this and asked, "Seriously?"

"Yeah!" Musaki exclaimed.

All of them swiped the invitation cards and they were definitely stoked up about this and Ichi said, "Man, you're getting older, aren't you?"

Xiamou looked up at him and she thought that she might be the same person he is when she first met him and said, "You don't look any older."

"I'm turning 17." Musaki added.

Kaguya gasped at this and she said, "You're getting to be Ichi's age...although I think he'll lose any sight of being a kid."

Ichi laughed sarcastically after that official statement and said, "Very funny, Kaguya."

"Anyways, we'll be there at your party. And I'll keep Ichi away from cake." Fu added.

"Hey!" Ichi shouted.

"You know how you get when there's chocolate cake around." Kaguya said.

Musaki bit his lip after that comment and he said, "I'm not sure what kind of cake it'll be yet."

Shiissaa then told Musaki, "But whatever kind it is, it's gotta be good, like vanilla."

"Who knows? I'll see you guys then." Musaki said.

All of them said goodbye as he walks off and as soon as he left the bookstore, he seeks his old friends; Sonic, Ty, Brian, Joey, Mookie, Sudoku, Miko, Seth and Shanghai walking past him and he said, "What up, guys?"

All of them went around him and gave him a hug and they all said, "Happy soon to be 17th birthday, Saki!"

Musaki was touched to see that these guys already knew about his 17th birthday coming up and said, "Aw, you guys."

Miko went over to him and he said, "We've known you long enough to know when your birthday will be."

With that, Musaki handed out 9 invitations to his 17th birthday and all of them were completely stoked up about this party and Ty asked, "Where's it gonna be?"

"At the Jade Palace." Musaki replied.

"Whoa..." they all said.

Sudoku chuckled lightly and said, "Man, Master Shifu is so cool to let you have a party there."

Musaki chuckled sheepishly about that and he said, "Yeah, we haven't gotten there yet, but I hope it does."

"Well, either way, we can't wait to see you at your party." Joey said.

"Yeah, thanks, guys."

As they walked off, life is starting to get really good for Musaki and he checked out all of people he gave the invitations to off the list and made his way back to the palace.

Meanwhile, Po is out shopping around to see what kind of gifts Musaki might like while the others went in separate directions, finding something to outdo each other's gift for Musaki's birthday , all determined to see which one is better and Po lets out a devious smile and said, "Good luck finding an awesome present for Lil' Saki...because I will give him something he'll like."

* * *

Keep your eyes open on that competition later in the story. Also, Kendall, Naomi, James and Spencer are owned by Angel of Darkness, Jo is owned by Joe 'Po' Navark and Ichi, Fu, Shiisaa, Ren, Xiamou and Kaguya are owned by Wonder Panda Tan-Tan. As for the other characters...Musaki's orphan friends are owned by me. Stick around for more!


	5. Gift Wars

Here's the battle of birthday gifts!

* * *

Chapter 5: Gift Wars

Five days were left until Musaki's 17th birthday comes in and soon enough, Arizona walks across the streets of the Valley of Peace, trying to find a gift for Musaki. He wasn't really sure what he would like because he's only known him for almost a year, but whatever it is...it might be something good. Soon enough, he sees Kendall and Naomi walking through, holding hands together and he immediately caught up with both of them and Naomi sees him walking his way and she said, "Hey, Arizona!"

"Hey, Naomi, Kendall." Arizona said, with a smile.

Kendall chuckled softly and did their fist-touch greeting and said, "How's it hanging, Zona-man?"

Arizona takes a deep breath and he said, "Not much. Just trying to find what Musaki would like for his birthday gift."

Naomi was surprised to hear this coming from him and she said, "Have you figured out what he might like yet?"

Arizona was hesitant to reply because he has absolutely no clue what he might like and he replied, "Not yet. I've only known him for almost a year now and I'm kinda struggling to find what he might like."

Kendall suddenly had an idea on his head and he asked, "Does he like drawing?"

Arizona's ears perked up after hearing this and he replied, "Yeah..."

Kendall then said, "Sometimes whenever me, James and Spencer hang out with him, he would always draw pictures of us, just so he can remember every awesome thing we've done...even when we perform onstage."

Naomi looked a little confused on all of this and she asked, "What are you saying exactly?"

"Why not give him a sketchpad?"

Arizona sighed heavily at this and he said, "Sounds great, but I really want to show Musaki how much I appreciate him after all he did to me in the past year...like showing much gratitude."

Naomi suddenly had an idea that came to her and she graciously turned to Arizona and she said, "How about you give him a headband that symbolizes friendship and teamwork? I've seen a few of those at a clothing store, so that way if you wear them, you'll know that your bond will remain stronger above anything."

Arizona soon thought about that idea and he figured that it does have something to do with friendship and it does symbolize how much they're really good friends and he said, "You know what, that's actually a great idea."

Kendall agreed with that suggestion and he said, "Yeah, you guys are pretty awesome friends and I was thinking of getting him the same thing too...only to describe him as my brother since, you know, Jason died."

Arizona and Naomi could see Kendall feeling a little sad, just thinking about Jason and she kissed him on the forehead for comfort and said, "Your brother will never be replaced and the memories that you guys have will always stay...except for when he nearly tried to kill me."

Kendall lets out a simple sigh and said, "That's one memory I'd like to forget."

While the three walk around enter into a clothing store, Po walks around the Valley desperately trying to find an awesome gift to outdo everyone else's gift choices for Musaki's birthday and when he went towards a weapons store, there were tons of weapons galore and even safety bags to keep them in and he widened his huge jade green eyes, just seeing how much of them were all around.

"Can I help you with anything, Dragon Warrior?"

Just then, Po turns around and sees a pig owner of the shop and he walks up to him and said, "I'm looking for something awesome for a friend of mine. His birthday's coming up and I was just wondering what would be the best gift for him."

The owner seems intrigued by this and he said, "How old is he gonna turn?'

"17." Po replied.

"Follow me."

The pig owners takes Po around most of the sections there where there are mounds of weapons all over the place and also some safety bags for them and something's gotta stand out that might pique Musaki's interest and as the owner was talking, Po comes across something awesome...a bow and some arrows. It was then and there that it would be the perfect choice for a 17 year old's birthday gift. He picks them up and asked, "How about these?"

The owner looks behind and sees Po holding a bow and some arrows and he lets out a chuckle and said, "Perfect choice."

"And do you have a little carrier case for his sais?" asked Po.

Immediately, he lets out a little burlap sack that holds sais and Po chuckled softly and said, "I'll take them."

Po immediately paid for these weapons and after he thanked the owner, he walks out of the store, looking forward to impress Musaki on his birthday and ready to rub it in the other masters' face when Musaki sees this. Po chuckled softly and said, "Lil' Saki's gonna love this!"

Meanwhile, Monkey walks across a prank store and he was giddy about what kinds of pranks Musaki might do and when he entered in the store, he looks around to see which would be a great present. As he was looking however, he looks up and sees two boxes of novelty pranks and he was thinking about which ones would be the most coolest for Musaki and when he looked at one of them, he comes across a little book called 'How to Prank an Unsuspecting Kung-Fu Master and Learn How to Get Away With It' and a light bulb flashing within his head and knew that the unsuspecting victim would be Tigress, so he picked up the novelty items along with the book and paid for it and when he stepped out of the store, Monkey lets out a chuckle and said, "Saki, Master Monkey will teach you pranks for your birthday."

Then, Mantis and Tigress walked across the Valley and ends up in a department store and as they went in, Mantis looks up and he seeks a wooden-brown flute and he hopped out of her shoulder and headed for the flute and when he picks it up, he lets out a mischevious chuckle and said, "Take a seat, guys...because Saki's gonna play some music for this gift I'm giving him."

Tigress walks around to see what kind of clothes Musaki might like and when she looks around, she sees some straw hats, sets of pants, shirts and also some robes that might fit him. When she carries all of those clothes, Mantis was surprised to see how much clothes she found that's suitable for his birthday. He lets out a long whistle and asked, "How much clothes does one person need?"

Tigress sets them down in front of the cashier and she quickly responds, "It's pretty much all that I can come up with. Plus, he might need an extra set."

Mantis scoffed at this and said, "You're a clothes hound."

Tigress glares at him for that remark and that made Mantis a little bit annoyed at this and said, "You have no sense of humor. But I'll ge the last laugh when Musaki sees this gift."

Tigress looks up and sees that Mantis has a dark wooden-brown flute and that made her shocked and bewildered that he'd find something like that and she said, "There's absoultely no way that I'll be outdone by you."

Mantis lets out a cocky smile and said, "Once he likes this, the only thing you'll be hearing from me...is a little thing called 'the piper'."

Luckily for her, one of those clothes has a little something-something that is completely unbeatable and she sticks out a japanese cape to show it to Mantis, in which he looks in a deep entrench of shock and she said, "Guess the clothes hound knows style."

Mantis lets out a deep groan and said, "I'm still gonna beat you, though."

"Oh, we'll see."

Then, Crane heads to a pottery store and when he enters, he sees a lot of vases and other miscellaneous stuff all made in pottery clay and began thinking that would make it special for Musaki as a gift and suddenly, he comes across a pottery statue of the Jade Palace and as he looked at it, he could see that wherever Musaki goes, he could look at it and remember his home. Crane chuckled softly and said, "Saki will love this."

Minutes later, he bought that gift and as he came out, he lets out a little smirk and said, "Art triumphs over ridiculous items."

Meanwhile, Arizona came out of the clothing store with Kendall and Naomi as they did some shopping and when Arizona looked at the bag, he sees the red and blue bandana that has the two chinese symbols; friendship and teamwork and he bought one himself as well so that they can match. He looks at both of them and said, "I'm sure Musaki's gonna love this one."

Kendall chuckled softly and said, "It'll be the best present he's ever gotten."

Naomi looks at Arizona and said, "We're coming to his birthday party in a few days. Maybe we can see you there."

Arizona smiled at that and he said, "That would be great. Thanks, you guys."

"Thanks." Kendall said.

Both of them went on the way home and after Arizona waved at them, he made his way home and just then, he noticed Viper coming home with something on a bag and when he caught up with her, she seems him coming this way and he asked, "What ya got there?"

Viper shushed him by putting her tail on his lips to keep it quiet and she said, "Musaki's birthday present. I saw some of the others trying to compete with each other to see who's got the best gift and I just headed towards the photo store where I found a sketch of Po, Shifu and ourselves, so that way, he'll always have his family wherever he goes."

Arizona widened his eyes at that and that made him really stoked up about that gift and he said, "Now that's a cool gift."

Viper smiled a little and said, "This gift is between you and me. I'm not gonna let them know about it until Musaki's birthday."

"Got it."

Arizona and Viper made their way back to the Jade Palace and he was looking forward to give this present to his good friend for his 17th birthday. The young wolf completely felt like this is a gratitude present for his one friend that saved him from complete misery in one year and made him feel special. Arizona took a little smile and thought to himself, 'It's my turn to do something special for you.'

* * *

How's that? There's more around the bend!


	6. Setting the Party

Shifu begins setting up the party. Wonder what'll happen next?

* * *

Chapter 6: Setting the Party

The next day comes and it's four days until Musaki's birthday comes along and just as Musaki headed inside the palace, he sees a lot of people just walking around, prepping up for something and he wanted to find out what's going on, but was soon stopped by Zeng.

"You can't go in there, Musaki." Zeng said, stopping him.

Musaki chuckled softly and he asked, "Why not?"

Zeng didn't want to tell him they were prepping for Musaki's 17th birthday because they wanted to keep it a surprise for him until the actual birthday and he said, "Master Shifu's orders."

Musaki didn't know what the reason was, but if it was something secretive, he wouldn't tell anyone about it and he said, "Okay. Whatever you say, Z. I just wanted to talk to him anyway."

"I'll let him know that." Zeng said, quickly.

Musaki was a little suspicious about Zeng's body language and gestures and figured something was up that he didn't want to know about, but kept it to himself and said, "All right. Just tell him I wanted to talk to him, okay?"

"Will do."

Musaki walks out of there and after the doors were closed, Zeng took a deep breath of relief and said, "Didn't suspect a thing."

Just then, Zeng walks over to Shifu and he said, "That was Musaki."

Shifu was immediately alerted about this and he quickly asked, "Did he know about our plans?"

"No, master. I sent him out." Zeng replied, nervously.

Shifu took a deep breath of relief after that and he said, "Everything has to be just right for his birthday celebration. I don't want him to know that we're planning it here because I want to keep it a surprise for him."

Zeng nodded his head in agreement and he said, "Understood, Master Shifu."

Just then, Kazuo, Shing, Ruiz and Zeke all entered the palace and saw Shifu and Zeng standing there and Ruiz asked, "Did you need help with anything?"

Shifu turns around and sees them all standing and replied, "Yes. Make sure most of the decorations arrive as soon as they can."

Zeke rose his hand to imply something to him, since his birthday is the same day as Musaki's and said, "I would like to say that me and Musaki have the same birthday because we're fraternal twins, so shouldn't we share it?"

Shifu stared at Zeke and he could tell that twins do share the exact same birthday and then, he said, "Yes. I almost forgot that you and Musaki have the same birthday since last year."

Shing went over and he asked, "So...do we decorate now or wait until Musaki's birthday comes in?"

"We are waiting for someone to bring in the decorations and also some festive items to drop by and on the day of his birthday, we start the decorating process. Everything must be made perfect for this occasion." Shifu added.

Kazuo cleared his throat and asked Shifu, "So, how does his 17th birthday would look like?"

"We will have a japanese-themed custom birthday party, since Musaki is half japanese and we will all appear like we're in Japan. Make it more festive and not to mention, ancient." Shifu replied.

Ruiz's ears drooped a little in confusion after hearing that plan come to fruition and tilted his head to the side and asked, "We don't have to wear kimonos, do we?"

Shifu lets out an amused sigh and then replied, "Just some samurai costumes will do."

All of them totally agreed on the samurai costumes to make it look more ninja-ish and they replied in unison, "Works for us."

Meanwhile, Musaki walks across the Valley of Peace and heads to his Uncle Mako's place to drop by for a little visit and when he got there, he sees Cody, Max, Samurai and Phoenix in the front steps and all of them greeted him as he steps in.

Cody chuckled softly and asked, "Hey, isn't that our cousin? And does he seem a little older than us?"

"You know what? I barely recognize him now that he's almost 17 years old!" Samurai exclaimed, then laughs.

Musaki started laughing at that comment his cousins made and he could tell that his birthday is coming up soon and he said, "Good one, guys."

Samurai then comes up to him and does a fist-touch handshake and said, "Sounds like the birthday panda is in the house! How does it feel to be almost 17?"

Musaki lets out a big sigh and replied, "The same question...I don't really know yet. I don't feel like an adult yet, nor do I look it."

Cody stands up and pats Musaki in the shoulder and said, "Being 17 is pretty cool! You get to stay up late, attend some awesome places after dark and also date girls."

Phoenix scoffed at that latter part and he said, "And yet, here you are...22 years old and couldn't get a girl even if you tried."

Cody glared at him for making that statement and said, "Big talk coming from a 16 year old that chickens out on the first date."

Musaki started laughing at that comment and that made Phoenix roll his eyes at his older brother and said, "You got jokes, Code."

Max comes up to Musaki and he said, "Are you having a birthday party?"

Musaki comes down to Max's level and he replied, "Yeah, I hope so. I hope you and your brothers, sisters and your dad can come over to the Jade Palace this Sunday."

Max lets out a smile and hugs him deeply and said, "Happy birthday, cousin."

It was pretty much a good start to his 17th birthday with Max giving him a birthday hug and that warmed him up very deeply and Musaki graciously accepted that hug coming from his cousin and said, "Thanks, Max."

Just then, Uncle Mako comes out of the door and sees Musaki standing there and said, "My birthday nephew! Just yesterday, you were this cute, little panda and now, you've grown into a young adult. After everything you've been through, you still have a lot of spirit in you that haven't grasped out of your reach."

Musaki smiled at his uncle and said, "Hey, I'm still a kid...even though I'm not that old yet. But I think I'm looking forward to being 17."

Mako looks into Musaki's eyes and he could still see the image of his brother in him and he lets out a deep sigh and said, "You know, your parents would be so proud of you right now...into being the panda you're becoming. Ever since we've reunited, it's like we've picked up where we left off and we still had a lot of catching up to do since then."

Musaki nodded his head in agreement with that and said, "Master Shifu said that I'm maturing and that I've grown a lot over the course of 4 years in the Jade Palace."

Mako smiled and said, "Yes, you have...which is why I'm so proud to be your uncle."

That warmed up Musaki's heart to hear him say that and he responded, "And I'm proud to be your nephew."

Both of them hugged each other tightly and Mako felt like he was already his son from the start and Musaki said, "I hope that we can have more moments like this in the years to come."

"Me too. By the way, if you do decide to move out of the Jade Palace when you turn 18, we've still got a spare room just waiting for you to come in." Mako added.

Musaki smiled at that and said, "We'll see what happens."

"That way, you can still visit the Jade Palace and continue your training." Cody responded.

Musaki turned around for a second and he said, "And maybe some of you guys can be the next Dragon Warrior."

Cody, Phoenix, Samurai and Max looked at each other with that statement and they all said, "Pass."

Musaki chuckled softly after that and he said, "It was worth a try."

Then, Musaki felt a tug on his shorts and when he looked down, it was Max and he asked, "Do I get to see Arizona?"

"Uh-huh." Musaki replied.

Suddenly, Musaki does see Arizona walking past Mako's place and he called his name and as soon as Arizona got Musaki's attention, he made his way over and to his surprise, Max came in and gave him a big hug and Arizona lets out a slight chuckle and asked, "How are ya, little guy?"

Max looked up at Arizona and replied, "Pretty good. I'm looking forward to see you at Musaki's birthday party."

Arizona smiled at that and said, "I can't wait to see you there too."

Mako could definitely see both Max and Arizona bonding with each other, like they really are brothers in a sense and he said to Musaki, "I think it's safe to say that Arizona is now considered a part of the Bushido-Akio clan as we speak."

"I sorta get that feeling too." Musaki agreed.

* * *

Almost forgot to mention...since Zeke is Musaki's fraternal twin brother, it's only fair to have both brothers share the same birthday. Also, Nightfuryx...Max is in this fic too!


	7. Birthday Twins

Nothing's better than celebrating your birthday with your twin brother.

* * *

Chapter 7: Birthday Twins

Only three more days left until Musaki's birthday comes around and Musaki is sitting down at the Peach Tree, just contemplating on how closer it's getting until he reaches 17 years of age. He takes a deep breath and reflects on those times he had in the 4 years he's been adopted in the Jade Palace with some of the most famous kung-fu masters and how far he's come to be a part of their circle.

But he was also anxious about stepping into adulthood soon because he never expected to blossom through this transition. Even though he has matured into a young man, it might be hard for everyone to see him grow up because he still sees himself as the young 13 year old that used to be shy and timid when he was first adopted in the Jade Palace.

'As much as I'm excited about my birthday, how will I ever get used to being older? Will I face any challenges that gets in my way?' Musaki thought.

Just then, he hears some footsteps coming from behind and when he turns around, he seeks his brother Zeke coming as he sat down next to him on the Sacred Peach Tree. Zeke looks at Musaki and he asked, "Excited about our birthday?"

Musaki lets out a big sigh and he turns to Zeke and replied, "Anxious, actually."

Zeke pats his shoulder and he added, "Yeah, I know that feeling. You know, I was thinking about transitioning to that age lots of times and we're like almost grown-up. I ask myself like 'how did something like this happen? Weren't we just teenagers for a second?'"

Musaki nodded his head in agreement with that concern and he said, "Sometimes time just goes way too fast for us. It's like we've just met each other almost two years ago and already we're growing up."

Zeke takes a deep breath and has the same growing concerns about coming of age and replied, "I wish it would just like slow down for a while...at least freeze for a bit and just continue being young until we're getting sick of it."

"Yeah, I wish we'd have something to keep us from growing up, but we can't. Time just keeps going forward." Musaki added.

Zeke looked at his twin brother and lets out a smile and a little chuckle and said, "You wanna know what's the best part of this though?"

Musaki turned to Zeke for a minute and asked, "What's that?"

"At least for now...if I'm growing older with anyone, I'm glad it's you." Zeke added.

That tocuhed Musaki's heart, knowing that he'll grow older with his brother by his side and it just made their brotherhood all the more stronger and special as well. Musaki also said with a smile, "So am I."

"So...what do you think the others are gonna do for your birthday?" asked Zeke.

Musaki chuckled at that comment for a minute and asked, "Don't you mean 'our' birthday?"

Both of them started laughing with each other after that comment and both said, in unison, "Well, that too."

"You know, maybe growing up won't be that bad. We all have to grow up sometime, you know?" asked Musaki.

Zeke nodded his head in agreement and knew that they wouldn't be young forever as much as they would want to, but they knew that time keeps rolling forward all the time and that everyone has to grow sometime. But they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Zeke went on to say, "This is gonna be the best birthday we'll ever have."

"I agree." Musaki added.

Meanwhile, Po was putting some of Musaki's gifts in a bag where no one will eventually find out who's got the better present that wipes out Crane, Monkey, Mantis and Tigress' gifts to make sure Musaki's birthday gift is the most bodacious of all.

Just then, Monkey walked past Po's room, sneaking in to see what he's got that might outdo others, but Po immediately noticed his shadow lurking in and he said, "No peeking, Monkey."

Monkey groans in exasperation that Po knows that he was coming in and asked, "How did you even know it was me?"

"I just saw your shadow." Po explained.

Monkey sighed heavily, but quickly put a smirk on his face and said, "Whatever your present is, I bet it won't be as half as good as mine."

Po scoffs at this and said, "Oh, please. My present will trump yours."

Tigress then comes near the door with a cocky smirk on her face and said, "Or mine will trump both of your gifts."

Monkey rolled his eyes at what she said and asked, "For what, making a fashion arrest?"

Tigress wanted to beat Monkey up for that comment, but has decided to save it until Musaki's birthday is over and said, "All I can say is that I'll rub it in your faces when he likes my gift."

"But what if he doesn't like your gift?" asked Po.

Tigress growled at that burning question and said, "I'll make him like it."

Mantis then hops on Tigress' shoulder and said, "But my present will outshine all of your presents. Just you wait and see."

"Not as impressive as mine, though." Crane said, walking past them, laughing.

Just then, a very irritated Viper walks out of her room and went up to all of them and said, "Get over yourselves. You guys are wasting your energy for shopping gifts for Musaki when we should celebrate his coming of age."

"And we will...as long as he likes my gift." Po said.

Monkey puts his finger on his belly and said, "No, he'll like mine."

Mantis then hops on Monkey's head and crawled through his face and retorted, "Mine's the better gift and it'll knock your tail off."

"Your tails will be mine when he likes my presents." Tigress snarled.

"Or mine." Crane added.

Viper felt disgusted to see how obsessive they are with who's got the better gifts rather than celebrating Musaki's birthday and she said, "Listen to yourselves! This is getting pathetic and you guys are growing pitiful with your competition...well at least for Mantis and Monkey, more pathetic than usual."

Tigress then went to Viper and asked, "And what present you got for him?"

Viper puts her tail between her lip and hissed, "I will never tell."

Then, she quickly slithers out of the hallway, but not before saying, "And I might tell Master Shifu about this little competition game you guys played."

All of them were completely shocked that Viper would actually do something like that to tell Shifu about this and they all went, "You wouldn't..."

"Watch me." Viper said.

* * *

Forgive me if I made Viper a little OOC in this. They just can't stop competing, can they? Stay tuned for more!


	8. Birthday Messages

Musaki receives some awesome letters from people from Shanghai Secluded Valley.

* * *

Chapter 8: Birthday Messages

With only two more days left until Musaki's birthday, Musaki was busy meditating outside of the Training Hall, just finding some inner peace and inner strength inside of him and clears his mind on every little thing that gets in the way and just focused on himself more so than his worries.

While he was at peace, his mind began playing thoughts about celebrating a special day with him and his Jade Palace family and to him, nothing could be perfect nor more awesome than spending time with family and friends...which would probably be the best gift he'll ever receive.

After about 45 minutes of meditating, Musaki decided to head to the Sacred Peach Tree, but not until Zeng flew in front of him with a scrollfull of messages and when he looked at those, he asked, "Where they from?"

"From Shanghai Secluded Valley." Zeng responded.

And Musaki knew that if it's from Shanghai Secluded Valley, it must be from his relatives and some of his dad's family friends and when he opened the first scroll, he could see the name 'Shin Hai and family' in front of it and he opens the scroll and reads the message.

_Xing-Fu...hard to believe that in a few days, you're turning from little cub to full-grown panda adult. When I found out about your birthday, I knew that you'd grow into adulthood soon. I just kept thinking about that same little cub that my best friend was so lucky to have as his first offspring all up until that Tai Lung killed your parents. But after seeing you for the first time in years, you've officially grown up. I'm confident that you're gonna take on the world and face so many possibilities that's coming your way and we'll support you all the way as you grow up. Happy birthday, Xing-Fu and I hope your future will be as bright as the sun. Shin Hai._

Musaki chuckled softly after reading this message from Shin Hai and it made the impression that he is indeed growing up, which is a great start to his birthday weekend. Then, he got another one from Shin Hai's oldest, Shao.

He picks it up and it reads...

_Xing-Fu...or Musaki...whichever way I can call ya, the first time I saw you in person was only a month ago, but I feel like I've known you for years already. When my dad told me that you're gonna turn 17, I thought to myself...what do I do to make your day special? I just hope that you have a really great birthday because this is one that will always be one to remember. Remember, you can only be a teenager once...so enjoy the last teen year as if it was the last day on earth. Best of luck in everything you do. Shao._

"That's so sweet." Musaki added.

Suddenly, more scrolls fill in very quickly that wishes Musaki a happy 17th birthday and the overflow of scrolls made him more and more happier than ever and he truly felt really appreciated and loved at Shanghai Secluded Valley, knowing fully exact that his birthday would make it all the more special.

He was hoping to receive one from his grandparents, but as he looked up, there was nothing else and he looked at Zeng and asked, "Is there anything from my grandparents?"

Zeng cleared his throat and replied, "Not yet. Your grandparents told me that he and your grandmother are gonna send you a very special message either the day before or the day of your birthday and added a special surprise in it too."

That really widened Musaki's eyes to hear that his grandparents are gonna add something very special too and he smiled happily and said, "I can't wait! Thanks, Zeng! Now my birthday is starting to become very special."

Zeng then flew away for a while and as he looked at all the scrolls, Musaki picked them up one by one and took it to his room and placed it on his treasure chest where he'll treasure those heartfelt and kind messages always.

"Thank you guys so much...for making my birthday start out special." Musaki whispered, to himself.

* * *

And he will receive that message from his grandparents soon.


	9. Musaki's Personal Birthday Wish

What does Musaki want more than anything for his 17th birthday?

* * *

Chapter 9: Musaki's Personal Birthday Wish

With one more day left until Musaki turns 17, he felt a mixture of emotions about it; ranging from happiness, excitement, anxiety, nervousness and also a sense of joy that this might actually happen. As he laid down on his mat, looking up at the ceiling, he contemplates himself on that one big day that will be considered the most special day of his life.

He lets out a heavy sigh and kept thinking about all the things he's been through in his life and how far he's come to have everything he ever wanted; surrounded by family, friends and knowing that his parents are looking out for him from up above to keep him happy. Looking back on the 14 years that had occured throughout the course of his life, it was like everything happened in an unexpected way, but it turned out to be something of a good thing.

Suddenly, he hears someone coming through his door and when he turns around, come to find that it's Po, standing there. He chuckled softly and looked at him and asked, "What's up?"

Po chuckled lightly as he entered the room and just sat down on the floor near Musaki's mat and replied, "Just came to check up on the awesome birthday man that's about to turn 17 tomorrow."

Musaki nodded his head lightly and he asked, "Po, how does it feel to be older? I know I've grown a lot since I've been here, but now that I'm facing adulthood pretty soon...I'm starting to get a little nervous."

Po was surprised to hear this coming from him and asked, "What's there to be nervous about?"

Musaki blinked his eyes twice and he said, in a shaky voice, "Everything. It's one thing to be a kid, but another thing is it'll end very quickly."

Po chuckled softly and he puts his hand on his shoulder and said, "Being 17 is a step into going through adulthood. Even though you're still a teen, you're almost at the end of being a kid. There's responsibilities, growing up, finding a mate...all of those things that happens when you're an adult, but the one thing that will never change is that the memories of being young will not be forgotten. They'll stay with you throughout your entire life."

Musaki thought about that for a second and everything that Po has said almost sunk in and he remembered the conversation he had with Zeke days prior about growing older and he figured that it won't be so bad being an adult after all. He looked at Po and he asked, "Did you ever feel that way when you were turning 17?"

Po looked ay Musaki for a second and he replied, "I felt really excited, but also nervous as you were because I felt like I didn't want to grow up. I just thought that being a kid would last forever, but sometimes it doesn't last. My dad told me that I have to get used to the fact that everyone grows up, but you can still be a kid at heart...even though I have the mind of one."

Musaki chuckled for a second after that and then he said, "I guess you're right."

Po just couldn't believe what he was seeing...Musaki growing up. He still remembers him as that 13-year old orphan that first came in the Jade Palace for the first time and had grown into a 17 year old kung-fu prodigy turned aspiring master. In fact, he saw an image of Musaki when he was only 13 and that was the only thing he still sees to this day. He lets out a small chuckle and Musaki noticed that and asked, "What's so funny?"

Po lets out a happy sigh and said, "It's just...I still think of you when you first came in...still a young, innocent cute little cub at the age of 13. Now...you're not so little anymore. I miss that."

Musaki realized that Po still sees him as a young preteen cub and he figured that it was the only thing that made him so likeable in the first place. He then went on to say, "If my parents were here...they'd see me grow up into something they always wanted me to be...a kind-hearted soul with a happy, fulfilling life."

Po places his arm around his shoulder and said, "Lil' Saki...if your parents were here, they'd be as proud of you as I am."

It warmed Musaki's heart a little to hear this coming from the Dragon Warrior and he really sees him as a brother, a friend and a mentor...a goofy, playful yet awesome mentor. He then sighed and said, "i just wish they can see me for my 17th birthday...where I can be surrounded by close friends and family."

Po smiled at him and said, "We're gonna make it special for you. I promise."

"Thanks, Po...for everything." Musaki whispered.

That did it for Po. He just grabbed him by the shoulder and just gave him a huge hug and said, "I wish you didn't have to grow up."

"Don't we all?" Musaki asked.

Then, he lets go and told him, "Anyways...I can assure you that this birthday will be awesome!"

Musaki nodded his head in agreement and he said, "The best part about that is that I'll be surrounded by people I care about and love. That would be my ultimate birthday present."

That term 'birthday present' seems to strike a chord in Po after he heard that coming from Musaki. It totally shocked him to hear that all he wanted for his birthday was to be surrounded by his family and friends and he did not expect that coming from him. Then, Musaki turns around and said, "Yeah, I've heard about what you and the others were doing throughout the week...a birthday present war."

"How'd you know that?" asked Po, in shock.

"Viper told me." Musaki replied.

The fact that Musaki knew about that completely came to light immediately because he didn't expect him to know about it, but decided to keep that to himself to prevent the other masters who were competing on getting the best birthday gift for Musaki from knowing about it. Po chuckled nervously and said, "Well...don't worry about that. We'll make your special day extra special."

Then, he left the room, leaving Musaki rolling his eyes in exasperation and he got out of his mat, left the room and just headed towards the Jade Palace roof to take a look at the sky to have some contemplating words from his parents.

He lets out a huge sigh and looks up at the sky and said, "Mom...dad...in the morning, I will be 17 years old. I just wish that...that you'd be here to watch me have the best time of my life with my friends and family and just to see me grow. I never really thought that I would get this far just to have an awesome life that I never expected to have. If it wasn't for you risking your lives for me, none of this would've ever been possible."

He paused for a second and takes another deep breath and said, "I know I'm growing older now, but all I really want for my birthday...is to just feel your presence and know how proud you are of me that I'm turning into the person I'm becoming. I hope you wish me luck in everything that will happen to me as I grow up. Anything that I know I can do...I know I will make you guys proud of me."

He lets out a small smile as tears started coming down on his face and whispered, "I love you...and I still miss you guys...every single day of my life. I know you will always be here in my heart...and I'll still keep you there...always."

* * *

Next chapter...Musaki and Zeke's birthday!


	10. Personal Coming of Age Message and Gift

And Musaki does get that message from his grandparents and he's not the only one...

* * *

Chapter 10: A Personal Coming of Age Message and Gift

Early morning comes and as the sun started to rise, Musaki groans sleepily as he wakes up, lets out a yawn and scratches himself as he sat up and stretched his entire body and when he got up out of his mat, he lets out a smile and realize that today is big day for Musaki...because it's his birthday! He is now officially 17 years old.

"Happy birthday, Xing-Fu." Musaki whispered to himself.

As he was about to head to the hallways, he could see that barely anyone was here and when he entered the kitchen, he could see a little note from the table that reads; 'Birthday Breakfast for the birthday man. Happy birthday! Po.'

When he looked down, he could see that there's a plate full of pancakes stacked on top of one plate and he noticed that there's some strawberries and kiwis inside of there, in which the latter part is Musaki's favorite fruit. He could not resist the fact that there's kiwis inside the pancake and he just ate it like it was the last breakfast he could ever eat.

With each bite, he could practically taste the kiwis inside of there and lets out a happy and satisfied sigh and said, "Yummy..."

After he was finished with his birthday breakfast, he then made his way outside, but he saw Master Shifu standing there and said, "Good morning, Musaki. How does it feel to turn 17?"

Musaki chuckled softly and replied, "I think it's starting to grow on me. I think I'm much cool with being 17 than being 16."

Shifu nodded his head in agreement and he said, "Later today, we'll have a birthday dinner along with some of your closest friends and family."

Musaki accepted that offer and he said, "Looking forward to that."

As Musaki walks off, Shifu takes a deep breath of relief and said to himself, "Back to the party planning."

MInutes later, he received an unexpected gift laying on his mat and when he walked up to it, he could see a scroll laying there and one read 'Oak Sung' in the center, in which he immediately knew that it's from his grandfather. As he opened it up, he reads;

_Our dearest Xing-Fu, today is your 17th birthday. Congratulations. Me and your grandmother are writing you this message to let you know how proud we are of you of your coming of age. I know that it would mean the world to you for us to come over to the Valley of Peace to celebrate this special occasion with you, but who would watch the Valley while we're out? Underneath this scroll you're reading now is a journal...in which you will write about so many thoughts. Thoughts of your wonderful life...whether a good day or a bad day or any kind of personal experience you go through will all be written in this journal when you reach this age. Always remember that as you grow up, you will experience a lot of things that might happen to you and as you reach adulthood, I hope that it'll be something good from all of this. If you decide to come back to Shanghai Secluded Valley with us when you turn 18, we would understand, but if not, we're fine with it as well as we know how well you have advanced in kung-fu training with those legendary kung-fu masters. I think we would consider them an immediate part of the Bushido-Akio clan, especially that Tigress person. If your parents could see you right now, they would be so proud of you knowing that you're growing up and becoming everything they hoped you would be right now...a young adult. We still see that person that was born from day one knowing that one day, you'd fill everyone with happiness, peace, hope, joy and make some major accomplishments and desire on your personal life. Make every time and every day spent as if it was your last and don't forget those that are closest to you deep in your heart. If anyone is born as a way of the warrior and a glorious hero, I'm proud to say that it's you...and we're proud to call you our grandson. And we can't count Zeke out too...for he is special to us as we're special to you. Both of you boys are growing to be fine young men just like your parents would hope and wish more than anything in the world. I hope you two have a special birthday and take every single word we can and keep them in your hearts forevermore. Love always, your grandparents._

It warmed up Musaki's hearts to know that those words generate a lot of power to show that the love they have is never stopped and will always be filled with love. Then, he looked down and sees that journal in which the front part is engraved 'Xing-Fu Musaki Ko-Kanji Bushido-Akio Meng Cheng Xi-Wang and there's another one from Ezekiel Zahou Bushido-Akio Meng and that was the best gift they could ever receive.

Just then, Zeke came in the room and he was next to Musaki and not long after, Musaki saw him from behind and gave him the journal and the scroll his grandparents wrote. Zeke chuckled softly and said, "I think our special day has just made it a lot more special."

Musaki nodded his head in agreement and said, "I think the best is yet to come."

Both of them stood up and just walked out of the room, feeling like their birthday will be the best one they'll ever have and the fact that their grandparents kicked it off with a special note automatically made it special to begin with.

* * *

We've covered the pre-birthday bash and here's where the full-on birthday begins!


	11. Big Plans

Here are some guests coming in the room!

* * *

Chapter 11: Big Plans

As the day goes on, Shifu began assembling everyone in the Palace to plan this elaborate birthday celebration for Musaki and also for Zeke and they're all working round the clock to make this a moment neither of them will forget. Just the thought of it made him definitely anxious becuase he wants things to run absoultely smooth and is very adamant about making everything looking perfect.

Shifu went to one of the workers and he asked, "Did you sent out the invitations?"

The pig worker replied, "Negative, Shifu. Musaki did that himself a few days ago."

Shifu nodded his head in understanding that Musaki already covered the invitations and with that, he went forward to the other side to see if the table's been set properly with mounds of chairs, chopsticks, bowls, spoons and other decorations galore with a Japanese theme.

With some help from the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior with some last-minute decorations and setting up the atmosphere for a normal 17-year old's birthday, decked out and made it all Japanese themy with samurais, kimonos, dragons, japanese lanterns and everything related to Japanese culture and the entire hall of heroes has been decked out into a teenage birthday Japanese paradise. Shifu takes a look at it and he could not believe what had been accomplished and he couldn't quite put it into words, but he was astonished and also amazed at how it became.

He looks at his students for a while and he bowed to them and they bowed back and he said, "Well done, students. As of this point, this will be the most spectacular birthday that Musaki and Zeke will never forget. Po...excellent work on the setup. How did you even manage to make it look like something outside of the traditional birthday party?"

Po chuckled softly at that question and answered, "I have the mind of a teenager. I know what teenagers like and what they would want for their birthday to look like."

Mantis hopped on his shoulder and said, "Considering you have the imagination of one. But besides all that, very impressive."

Seconds later, they wore traditional Japanese apparell; for the guys, samurai costumes and for the girls, geisha outfits and Shifu sets in some costumes for the guests who are coming in. Not long after, the door opens and when nthey turned around, they seek Shin Hai, Shao and some of Shin Hai's other kids coming inside the palace with mounds of bags and gifts and Shin Hai said, "Is this where Xing-Fu's birthday is?"

Shifu was pleasantly surprised to see Shin Hai come in the Jade Palace for Musaki, knowing that he traveled from Shanghai Secluded Valley to there definitely felt like it was meant for Musaki and he said, "Welcome, Shin Hai."

He bowed to him and all of them bowed back and then Shin Hai said, "I'd like to introduce you to some of my kids; this is my oldest Shao, my other sons; Anakoni, Shaka, Bakari, Takumi and my daughters Sofia, Amerie and Lilo."

All of them said hi to Shifu and bowed to him as well as the Five and the Dragon Warrior and they graciously bowed back and Shifu said, "Nice to have you all here."

Shao looks up at the palace for the first time and just takes it all in and said, "Man, when Xing-Fu said that he was living here, he wasn't kidding. I thought it might be huge, but not this huge."

Shifu chuckled lightly and said, "You'd be surprised."

Suddenly, all of the pups surround the Five and most notably, Tigress, in which she was a little uncomfortable about all those pups surrounding her and she didn't really know what to do at that point, but Anakoni told her, "You're very awesome in person."

"Thank you...?" Tigress asked, a little creeped out.

Suddenly, Takumi went to her and took a good look at her and then tells Shaka, "You were right. She is a major babe!"

All of the pups started laughing at that, which left Takumi a little embarassed and Tigress irritated to hear that and then Shao comes in and said, "Come on guys, let's give her a little space."

All of them dispersed from her but not before Shaka tigged on her leg and said, "Shao said you have beautiful boobs."

Shao dropped his mouth in shock and it was his turn to be embarassed by this and chuckled nervously when he turned to her while Tigress became completely disturbed by this comment coming from a 13 year old and he told her, "I don't know where he heard that one from."

Tigress just glared at Shao for a while, but then calms herself down and said, "They're just kids, I can tell."

Shao scratched the back of his head and said, "Yeah, they're full of surprises...sometimes surprising more than others. That thought...I was just 14 years old and...you know how some of us are."

Tigress looked at him confusedly and asked, "What?"

Shao didn't really know the answer for that and it's a good reason because she might've killed him in the process if he opened his mouth anyway and said, "Moving on...so how you treating Xing-Fu here?"

"Musaki? He's okay..." Tigress replied.

That rose Shao's eyebrow a little to hear that Musaki's a little okay and asked, "Scale of one to ten?"

That question seemed to annoy Tigress a little and she replied, "A six or a seven."

Shao lets out a heavy sigh on that and he could tell that she's getting a little bored with this conversation and said, "Okay then. Well, he's really cool to be around and his kung-fu...I think I want to see what he got because I heard from random sources here that he's considered the best student in the Jade Palace."

"He is quite a learner in his own way. Although...it irks me to say that his training has improved so far over the last couple of years and it surprised all of us...me, even." Tigress added.

Shao had no idea that Musaki was that good, but he was also surprised that what she said about Musaki's impressive training skills irks her a lot and asked, "I don't wanna come off as like crazy or anything, but are you actually jealous of him?"

That question was random for her and she just stood there with a confused expression and replied, "Jealous of his skills, no. How he does them so well, maybe. But maybe I am a little jealous that he's got a lot of praise from Shifu and most of the Five."

Shao lets out a small smile and said, "I haven't seen his moves yet, but if I do...I'm sure it's all because you guys have taught him well."

That's the part she dreaded most...that it was because of her and the others that his training skills have gotten better and she tried to hide it and only said, "Yes, that is quite the reason."

Just then, another round of guests came in the palace doors and in comes Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren, Shiisaa, Xiamou and Jubei heading in the palace and Ichi said, "We're ready to celebrate!"

Po turns around and sees Ichi and the others come in and he couldn't be more happier to see him and he quickly runs over to him and gives him a big hug and exclaimed, "ICHI! I'm so glad to see you!"

Po held onto Ichi so hard, he was almost on the verge of passing out and he said, "Thanks, Po. Now would you mind letting me go? You're almost choking me!"

Po lets go of him while Ichi was coughing and Po said, "Sorry, buddy."

Then, he looks at the others and he sees that they've got some gifts for him and he clears his throat and said, "Glad that all you guys came for Lil' Saki's big day today."

Fu started laughing and she said, "We wouldn't miss it for anything!"

Suddenly, in comes Jo coming in the door and Po was deeply excited to see Jo come in the room and he said, "How's my little badger brother doing?"

Jo smiled at Po and replied, "Just fine. I came to celebrate my awesome friend's 17th birthday."

"Well, I'm very glad you came, Jo. It'll definitely mean a lot to Musaki." Po said, with a smile.

Next on the guest list came Kendall, Naomi, James, Spencer along with Musaki's orphanage friends; Miko, Shanghai, Sudoku, Joey, Brian, Ty, Sonic, Mookie and Seth entered the palace and also some of Musaki's cousins and Uncle Mako showed up to take in the festivities.

Max walks through the Hall of Warriors to find Arizona and fortunately for him, he didn't have to look that far because he walked inside the palace with Kazuo, Shing and Ruiz and he immediately ran up to him and Arizona looks up and sees Max coming in and landed on him to hug him.

"Hey, Max! Glad you came, little bro." Arizona said, happily.

Max chuckled softly and replied, "Me too. It's the best thing for Musaki's birthday."

Arizona noticed that Max has grown a few inches and he was definitely surprised to see that he's actually growing and said, "Have you gotten taller?"

Max chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head and replied, "Somewhat."

Arizona nodded his head in understanding and said, "Growing up...but still a kid."

As the guests socialized and tried on their Japanese costumes, the Five and Po brought in their gifts and all of them had their games faces to see which present Musaki might like the best and neither of them would not know what to expect other than the fact that they're gonna outdo each other.

When they did face each other, all of them looked at each other very seriously and Po said, "May the best present win...which will be mine."

"No freakin' way!" the rest protested.

Viper looked over and rolled her eyes to see that they're still competing to see which birthday present is the best for Musaki and she slithered away from the situation and when he slithered past Shifu, he could tell something must be bothering her and he asked, "Is something wrong, Viper?"

Viper quickly turns around and she replied, "Nothing, master. Nothing's wrong."

Shifu could tell that he was hiding something...and on a special day like this. The last thing he would expect is Viper hiding something from him and figures that now might not be the best time.

* * *

The next chapter, the moment you've all been writing for! The full-on birthday party! Who's gonna win the gift war? And how would Musaki see this happening? All coming up next!


	12. Birthday Gift Wars

All right, I kept you guys waiting to see what Musaki's reaction would be when the masters participate in this gift war long enough. Who stands out? Answers revealed here!

* * *

Chapter 12: Birthday Gift Wars

Later on in the afternoon, Musaki and Zeke made their way up the stairs to the Jade Palace, totally unaware that Crane was watching them from up the rooftop and quickly went inside and announced, "Musaki and Zeke are on their way up!"

Once they heard the news that not only Musaki was coming, but Zeke made his way up too and Mako suddenly realized that it was both of their birthdays and almost immediately, everybody scattered around to hide across the palace to surprise both of them. And when everything was silent, the door opens and in comes Musaki and Zeke and all they could see is a table in front of the Hall of Warriors and Musaki asked, "What up with the table?"

Zeke looks around for a while and replied, "I don't really know. Why would they leave a table here?"

"Must be something important." Musaki replied.

And he was proven right.

"SURPRISE!" everyone exclaimed, as they came out of hiding, surprising both Musaki and Zeke at the same time surrounded by confetti, noisemakers, people weaing Japanese attire and everything.

At that point, Musaki and Zeke couldn't put their psyche around it, but they eventually got the message that they're celebrating their birthday and Musaki smiled and said, "Aw, you guys..."

Just then, Viper comes in and she said, "Happy birthday, boys. How does it feel to be 17?"

That same question always comes out even before their birthday even arrived and Musaki lets out an amused sigh and replied, "Right now, it feels freakin' awesome!"

"Yeah, I never thought I would be this much older, even though I'm still a kid." Zeke agreed.

Shin Hai lets out a chuckle and placed a paw over both Musaki and Zeke's shoulder and said, "But you two will no longer be kids anymore because you guys are growing up."

Musaki was surprised to see Shin Hai come in and he immediately hugged him tightly and Zeke joined in as well and Shin Hai chuckled softly and said, "Nice to see you boys."

"You too, Shin." Musaki added.

Just then, Shao and his siblings came over to give both Musaki and Zeke a hug and even everyone of Musaki's friends came in for the hugs as well and Musaki introduced his brother to his other friends.

"Guys, half of you might remember me fratneral twin brother, Zeke. If you haven't met him, this is my brother." Musaki said.

Zeke chuckled softly and said, "Hey, you guys."

Kendall, Naomi, James, Spencer and Shao all came and introduced themselves to Zeke and that made Zeke feel really good for Musaki's friends to meet him for the first time or those that already knew him to meet again and said, "Nice to see you guys."

Shifu went ahead and gained pretty much everyone's attention and said, "Now...since we're all here, let us begin with a birthday feast and we'll bring out some cake afterwards."

Everyone agreed with that, especially Po and then Musaki steps in beside Shifu and adds, "We have one simple rule though...don't let the Dragon Warrior eat everything he sees unless it's on his own plate."

Everyone turned to Po, knowing that he might everything he sees and all Po could do is say, "Aw, come on, Lil' Saki! That's not even a good rule!"

"I think that's a perfectly good rule." Tigress added.

Musaki was shocked to hear that Tigress actually agreed what he said and added, "We finally agree on something! Hopefully, it stays that way."

Tigress just glared at him after that statement, but lets it slide because it's his birthday and said, "Possibly..."

Musaki and Zeke were definitely surprised that the theme is a Japanese theme and they were stoked about this and Shifu gave Musaki and Zeke two samurai hats and costumes and as they put them on, they feel like ninja warriors celebrating their birthday and he said, "What do you think?"

Then, they looked around and sees everyone wearing traditional Japanese clothing because they're both half Japanese and Musaki said, "Looks like everyone's getting into it. Wasn't expecting this, but I'm glad you did anyway."

Zeke agreed with how it came out the way it did and how everyone's getting into the whole Japanese traditional motif theme and he smiled and said, "This is the best idea ever."

Shifu smiled at both of them and said, "I figured you'd like it. All the best for your birthdays."

Not long after, everyone starts eating some pretty good eats there and everyone just talked amongst themselves and for Musaki...this is what he always wanted; celebrating this special day with family and friends around and to share it with Zeke completely made it the best day he's ever had before. Nothing could spoil this moment.

Shin Hai looked at Musaki for a bit and said, "You know, your grandparents would've loved to come here and celebrate this with you, but who would watch the Valley while they're gone?"

"I saw the note this morning. Hearing from them is good enough for me." Musaki replied, with an understanding smile.

Shin Hai could definitely tell that Musaki is truly understandable about everything and even in that new age, he still has the same personality as his father. He patted his head and said, "You're a good kid, Xing-Fu. Always let that stay with you and never change."

Musaki chuckled at that and said, "I won't, I promise."

Then, he looks at Zeke and adds, "That goes for you too, Ezekiel. Don't think I've forgotten the time you peed on my face when I babysat you both when you were baby cubs."

Musaki stifled his laughter while Zeke just blushed in embarassment for bringing that up and said, "That's one memory I wished I would forget."

Kendall went up to Zeke and shook his hand and said, "It's awesome to actually meet the brother of someone so awesome."

Zeke smiled at that and he responded, "Good to hear. You know, Musaki hasn't told me about you, but has mentioned the time that he was kidnapped by Tai Lung and some creepy person."

Kendall sighed heavily and knew that this was gonna be a heavy subject to even talk about and said, "We've been kidnapped for months by Tai Lung and we thought that we'd never get out of here, but me, Naomi, James, Spencer and your brother managed to get out only to be stopped by Tai Lung and my brother Jason and he ended up killing one of his guards and nearly killed Naomi, but he got killed himself by him. I figured that he was gonna be betrayed by Tai Lung and took his life."

Zeke was deeply silent after hearing all of this and he comforted Kendall about losing his brother and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Yeah, so am I. After Jason died, Musaki's always been there for me and he's sorta like...not really Jason's replacement as my brother, but I feel like he is to me. Whenever I feel hurt or whatever, he's always there to cheer me up." Kendall added.

Zeke looked at Musaki and he asked, "Is that true, what Kendall said?"

Musaki looked at him and then at Kendall and then replied, "Yep. Since Jason's death, I've been hanging around him just to make sure he's not lonely and if he needed someone to talk to or if it's company, I'm always there. He's got James and Spencer too, but it's mostly me...or Naomi."

Zeke was impressed to hear this come out of his twin brother and said, "I never thought you'd actually be there for anyone."

"That's what he always does. He always comforts me, Naomi and everyone else that goes through a hard time." Kendall added.

Zeke smiled at him and Musaki smiled back as well and almost immediately, gifts started pouring in for both Musaki and Zeke and as soon as they got what they received, that definitely made their day a lot more special and suddenly, when it came time for the Five and Po, things took a big turn, especially when Po brought in a gift for Musaki.

When he opened the gift, he was stunned to see that there's a little placeholder for his two sais and then add to that, a bow and some arrows. He dropped his mouth in shock and couldn't believe that Po would get these things and said, "Dude, those are really awesome!"

Po chuckled softly when Musaki saw what he gave him and said, "I figured you'd like them. All courtesy of the Dragon Warrior."

"What? No way!" Monkey shouted, out of nowhere.

Everyone turned their attention to a shocked and very ticked off Monkey, who angrily confronted Po in front of Musaki over his present and asked, "A bow and some arrows? A place to put his sais? That's your greatest gift?"

"Yep, whatcha say now?" Po asked, in a cocky tone.

Monkey growled at him and then, brought in his gift and gives it to Musaki and then, he turned to him and said, "Let's hope what I gave you is way better than Po's."

Musaki looked at him confused-like and very uncomfortable, not sure what's happening but opened it anyway and in comes a novelty items of pranks including a book on how to prank unsuspecting victims and he looked at it and said, "Impressive."

Monkey then got on Po's face and said, "Ha-ha! He likes it!"

Just then, Crane quickly went over to them and was shocked to see what Monkey's gift is and added, "Really? A prank box? So juvenile."

Monkey gasped in horror after hearing the word coming out of Crane's beak and said, "Juvenile? Who are you calling this gift juvenile?"

Crane sneered at him while Monkey growled angrily at Crane and he asked, "And what have you got?"

Crane then breaks out the gift, gives it to Musaki and said, "Happy birthday, Saki."

Musaki opened his gift and what met his eyes is a pottery replica of the Jade Palace and he was wide-eyed about this and said, "This looks awesome."

"That way, whenever you're in Shanghai Secluded Valley, you can look at it and it reminds you of home." Crane said, with a smile.

Musaki smiled a bit and said, "Thanks."

Just then, Mantis lets out a big yawn out of nowhere as he hopped on Monkey's shoulder and said, "Pottery? Talk about boredom. My present is anything but."

Mantis then hopped on Musaki's shoulder and he hands him the gift and when he opened it up, he saw a dark brown carved flute and he had no idea that this was given by Mantis and he had no idea what to say. He chuckled and said, "I love flutes. How'd ya know?"

"Because I know you best. Play us a little something, Saki-man." Mantis said, happily.

Musaki clears his throat and starts playing a little tune in front of everyone and everyone got into it and after he was done, mounds of cheers and applause surrounded the palace and then Musaki turned to Mantis and said, "This is clearly the best gift in the history of best gifts."

This clearly shocked Po, Monkey and Crane after hearing this and then, Mantis turned to the rest and said, "In your faces! Best gift ever! Prepare to lose to the bug!"

But Tigress boldly stepped in front of them all and told them, "No, you're gonna lose out to me!"

Just then, Tigress went up to him and she sets down some gifts for him and then lets out an angry look on her face and said, "You'd better like my gifts!"

A very petrified Musaki slowly reached into his gift basket and in came some clothes. He was a little puzzled on why she got him clothes for his birthday, but was a little okay with most of the clothes. But when he came across a japanese-like cape, that definitely caught his eye. He tried it on and said, "I like this one a lot better than some of the other clothes."

Tigress did not know what to say after hearing that the cape was the one thing Musaki liked out of all the clothes she bought for him and she asked, "You only like the cape?"

Musaki nodded his head and then Tigress twitched her eye, like he had just said that he doesn't like the rest of the clothes and asked, "Do you not like what I've bought you?"

Musaki was nervous to actually respond to what he was gonna say to her because it might end up with a violent scene if he said the wrong thing and he nervously responded, "They're...okay."

"Okay? Just okay? I brought several clothes for you, including that cape and you like it, but all the other clothes...all you can say is they're okay?" Tigress shouted, while balling her fist close to Musaki's face.

Kendall suddenly stepped in and tried to make a little light of the situation and calmly asked, "Can this not start in violence? We are having a birthday here."

"Stay out of this." Tigress said, calmly while growling at him.

Po scoffs at this and said, "Come on, does it really matter? Besides, my gift is just as better than yours!"

Monkey then hopped in front of him and added, "Not true. Musaki likes my gift!"

"No, mine!" Crane argued.

Mantis hopped on Crane's beak and shouted, "No, he likes my gift!"

Tigress snarled at said, "No, you're all wrong! He likes my gift!"

All of them started arguing over which gift Musaki likes the more, it was shocking for the entire crowd to see them unravel for the first time and just when it was starting to get violent, Musaki didn't want anything to screw up his special day, so he stood up and just angrily shouted, "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

They froze for a second and Musaki started to get really upset and mad about this ordeal and he said, "Does it really matter if you guys' gift piques my interest?"

"YES!" they exclaimed.

"We're trying to do a nice thing for you." Tigress retorted.

Just then, Shifu stepped in front of them, with a very angry and appalled look on his face and asked, "What has gotten into you all? You're turning Musaki's special day into a birthday gift smackdown! Pitting against each other to see who's got the greatest gifts just to impress Musaki? You do realize how immature you're being, even you Tigress!"

Viper then slithered over to all of them and then, she turned to Shifu for a second and said, "That's what I was gonna tell you. Over the past week, Po and the others were challenging each other to see who's got the best gift for Musaki for his birthday to see who's better than whose."

Shifu was surprised to hear this come out of Viper and all of pieces of that puzzle came to place as he figured that something was up after seeing a look on Viper's face earlier that day and he asked, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't want to ruin Musaki's special day...like the rest of them tried to by going against each other in this ridiculous gift war." Viper answered.

That shocked Musaki even more and then he asked, "Did you really have to go there? Remember when I told you guys not to overdo it for my birthday? This falls under the category of completely overdoing it."

Monkey turned to him and replied, "We're just trying to make your birthday special and we thought we'd do something for you to make it special. We were hoping you'd like what we gave you."

Musaki saw this in a different way and added, "So you were trying to impress me for my birthday by going way overboard to make mine and Zeke's day special? More like a competition, I see. I know Viper told me about what you guys have been up to, pitting against each other to see what I want for my birthday. This is not how I want my 17th birthday to start off. All I want more than anything is to just spend time with my family and friends, the ones that are the most closest to me. That's my actual birthday present."

Suddenly, it completely hit them...Musaki never wanted gifts. All he wanted more than anything is to spend time celebrating his special day with his loved ones. That completely shocked Po, Crane, Mantis, Tigress and Monkey a lot knowing that it's what he wanted all along. Musaki lets out a deep sigh and said, "Listen, I don't really care about all the gifts I have or how it looks like or maybe even cake...even though it's the second-most important thing...but what I really care about more than anything in the world is the fact that I can spend mine and Zeke's special day surrounded by people I really care about and that I'm proud to be a part of. That's what's important to me."

That completely touched everyone in the crowd and then Shifu steps in the mix and said, "Musaki is right. You shouldn't make this about yourselves or about who likes which present to impress him. This is about celebrating a person's coming of age. Family is the most important thing in the world and I can see it's just as special as gifts. What matters is that we're all together."

It took a minute to sink in and then, most of them felt absoulte guilt for making Musaki's special day about themselves and Monkey said, "Shifu's right. What have we done to ourselves?"

Mantis sighed deeply and said, "One minute we're excited about Musaki growing up and the next, it turns into a birthday present warfare."

Crane also expressed remorse for being in the middle of this and turned to Musaki and said, "I know some masters are never wrong, but...after tonight, I guess the tables have turned. We're so sorry for making this special day about us over you."

Musaki nodded his head and smiled at them and said, "Apology accepted. And also...thanks for the gifts. I like them...especially that flute, bows and arrows and that cape. For once, Tigress finally did something right."

Kendall, Arizona, Shao and Max started snickering over that comment and when she heard it, she growls at them, but Musaki clears his throat and gave her a 'watch yourself' glare and she lets out a big sigh and said, "I'm sorry, Musaki. How can we make it up to you?"

"By not doing this again on our 18th birthday." Musaki replied.

They bowed to him and Musaki graciously accepted it and just then, Arizona walks in front of him and he said, "I kinda didn't know what to give you as a gift because I felt like I wanted to at least give you something after what you did for me last year, as a little gift of gratitude."

Musaki chuckled softly and said, "Aw, Arizona...you didn't have to give me anything."

"No, but I wanted to."

Just then, Arizona hands him a special gift and when he looked at it, his reaction was one of shock and happiness when he received the red and blue bandana that he's been eyeing on for a short time and he asked, "How'd you know?"

"I just...figured it out." Arizona replied.

And then, Arizona brings out another and ties it around his head and then Musaki tried it on and he was amazed to see that it matches both of them and Arizona went on to say, "As long as we have this, it tells that our friendship and teamwork will grow stronger."

Musaki immediately gave Arizona a hug and the young wolf graciously accepted the hug and he whispered, "Happy birthday, Musaki."

"Thanks. Now this is how I wanted my birthday to start off with." Musaki said, happily.

Just then, more gifts came flowing and as much as he showed appreciation for them, the one appreciation he has is spending it with people he loves. But also more surprising is when Viper brings in her gift to him and when he opens it, he was jaw-droppingly shocked when he received something unexpected...a samurai sword of his own with the name 'Musaki' engraved on the handle.

Po and the rest reacted when they dropped their jaws down in shock and outrage at the sword Musaki got from Viper and shouted, "What the...?"

Viper then lets out a smirk on her face and said, "Like I said, I didn't have to join your little gift war game so I totally decided to give him a special gift on my own and I also thought Musaki would have a sword to call his own."

Musaki smiled widely as he looked at it and he chuckled softly and asked, in a shuddering, shaky voice, "This...this is my own...?"

She nodded her head and said, "It's yours."

Musaki definitely felt like hugging her for it and he was bursting with joy, excitement and shock all at the same time and he blurted out, "Okay, this definitely outdoes it...this is the best birthday gift ever...given to it by you? Makes it all the more awesome! Thank you so freakin' much!"

Musaki does a little sword posing and he felt completely elated by his sword and it left Po, Crane and Monkey shocked, Mantis speechless and Tigress a little jealous and outraged that Viper got the better gift and they never expected her to do something like this and Monkey said, "Looks like Viper outdid us."

"I feel like we've been gift-winked." Mantis said, still in shock, hanging his mouth agaped open.

"Even now I feel jealous for Musaki." Po added, with a hint of shock in his voice.

All Tigress could do is just stand there, still stunned and shocked to see that Musaki received a samurai sword for his birthday and she felt like she would get sick to her stomach, but decided to just avoid that feeling and let Musaki have his moment of happiness because it's his 17th birthday after all.

'Musaki might be the luckiest kid I know.' Tigress thought.

And when it came time for cake, everyone sang happy birthday to him as they brought out a vanilla and kiwi cake with the candles representing 17 candles and after he blew out the cake, everyone cheered and applauded for him and then Max asked, "What did you wish for, Musaki?"

Arizona chuckled softly and told Max, "If he told us, it wouldn't come true."

"Why not? He should tell us anyway." Tigress added.

Po clears his throat and added, "Not how birthdays work, Tigress."

Musaki lets out a huge smile and said, "My wish already came true."

Everyone was wide-eyed about what his wish would be and Jo, Ichi, Max, Arizona, Kendall, Naomi, Mako and Po asked, "Which is...?"

"Being surrounded by the people I love more than anything in the world." Musaki added.

Zeke agreed as well and he said, "And to spend it with my brother makes it all the more special."

Minutes later, everyone got some kiwi and with each bite, Musaki felt like he was in heaven already because there were actual kiwis in the cake and it made him sigh happily.

Ichi, Kendall, Max, Jo and Arizona looked up and saw Musaki feeling like he was in cloud nine over indulging himself in kiwis and Jo asked, "Why do you like kiwis?"

"They're my favorite fruit, Jo." Musaki replied.

Jo chuckled softly and said, "That's true. But...why do you like them so much?"

"Because...what's better than a kiwi? A kiwi inside of a cake! They're like two of my favorite foods all combined in one awesome trifecta."

Jo looks up at Kendall for a sec and notices that he's very much into kiwis as well after taking that first bite and he asked, "You like kiwis too?"

Kendall lets out a content sigh and replied, "I do now..."

Max, Ichi and Arizona saw Po was gonna get some remains of the cake and Arizona stopped him and said, "Dude, you've had like 10 slices of kiwi cake. Why more?"

"Because I can't get enough." Po said, beginning to drool.

"Gross." Max and Ichi said, in unison.

Max looked up at Ichi for a sec and asked, "Is he always like this?"

Ichi lets out a very amused sigh and replied, "Don't get me started, Max."

Later on, Zeng comes in the palace and it grabbed everyone's attention and said, "Everyone, we've got a big surprise in the arena for Musaki and Zeke on their birthday."

The announcement quickly grabbed their attention immediately and both Musaki and Zeke were excited to see what's happening.

As soon as they both went outside, Musaki asked Zeke, "What do you think it might be?"

"Whatever it is, it must be good." Zeke replied.

* * *

How'd ya like that gift war? Did everyone expect Viper's gift to outdo the rest (despite the fact she never partook in the gift war with the others) and blew it out of the water? Wonder what's the other surprise? Well, the final chapter will explain it all!


	13. Big Finish

Here's the last chapter!

* * *

Chapter 13: Big Finish

As they entered the palace arena, they were surprised to see almost half of Shanghai Secluded Valley come out to surprise Musaki and Zeke on their 17th birthday and that really excited them a lot to have them come to the Jade Palace just for this moment. They both let out a slight chuckle and they looked at each other and said, "This is gonna be awesome!"

The rest of the crowd were surprised themselves to have those number of people pouring in and giving out their support of their coming of age and it definitely surprised the kung-fu masters too.

Most of Musaki and Zeke's relatives showed up and to them, it made it all the more special to wrap up this special day.

Suddenly, they see Kiba, Hige, Toboe and Tsume come through the stage and started howling their version of happy birthday to them and not longer than that, Arizona, Ruiz, Shin Hai, Shao and the other pups joined in too and everyone started cheering and Kiba came up to him and said, "Happy 17th, guys!"

"Aw, you guys!" Musaki said, smiling.

"What, you think we came all this way from Shanghai Secluded Valley for nothing?" asked Tsume.

Zeke went up to all four of them and added, "You guys are the best!"

Shifu couldn't help but see the overwhelming outpour of love for Musaki and Zeke and he sees that they're both really loved there, especially Musaki. All of the kung-fu masters saw why they came out for both Zeke and Musaki and they totally get it now.

"Wow...a lot of them really came for Musaki and Zeke." Mantis said, emphatically.

Crane chuckled a little bit and said, "I always thought that he was loved there, but I didn't know it was gonna be that much."

Tigress couldn't help but see all of these people coming to support Musaki and Zeke and how much love they have, it really spawned some deep guilt inside of her because she gave Musaki a hard time since he first lived in the Jade Palace and made her think that there is a lot of love that his relatives gave him since his parents died. She lets out a deep sigh and and Po noticed her feeling a little down and he said, "Hey, you okay?"

"Of course...I am. It's...it's great." Tigress said, trying to hide her sadness away.

Po could tell that she was saddened by how much Musaki is really loved by them and he said, "Never saw anything like this before?"

"I never really thought that he would be loved by anyone...but now, I see why." Tigress added.

Po looked at her with a reassuring smile and said, "You wanna know why? Not only it's because of his parents, but it's also because of us, how we took care of him and brought him to a happy state of mind and gave him a new perspective on life. That's how he became the person he is now. Him and Zeke too."

That answer seemed to almost brighten up Tigress a little and figured that he has a year left until he's an adult and hope that she can make him feel like he's appreciated a lot more and she said, "You're right."

Just then, some dance music starts playing and it wasn't long until Musaki, Zeke, Arizona and Shao came onto the stage and starts dancing for the entire crowd to see and not long, everyone started getting into it and danced along as well. Musaki went up with a breakdance/kung-fu mixture where it involves a lot of backflips, spins, kicks, turns and jumps in the air which completely set the crowd in a state of excitement.

Zeke also went along with the combination too, but totally made his own spin on it by doing a spin and kung-fu kick pose along with twisting his arms around and just owned the stage like Musaki did. Arizona and Shao stepped onto the stage and did some dance moves as well, but Arizona completely owned the dance floor by combining elements of breakdance and kung-fu movements, which also required a whole lot of shuffling and backflips. Shao was impressed, but definitely brought in a totally different kind of move. He started dancing as well and just did some flips, twirls and breakdance moves where he just did them on the ground and kicked his legs throughout the entire performance.

All four of them completely owned the stage and as the music kept going and all four of them ended it with a stellar dance-pose, in which the crowd cheered and applauded for them and they high-fived each other as well.

After Arizona and Shao left the stage, in came Kendall, Spencer and James, looking like they're ready to get the party started. Kendall headed towards the crowd and said, "We came up with an awesome song especially for Musaki and Zeke's birthday, so I hope you guys enjoy this."

As the music starts, everyone wasn't sure what to make of it, but as soon as Kendall started dancing along, everyone was floored by his kung-fu dance skills and then, began to sing the song.

_So, may I have your attention_

_Look in my direction_

_Here you see the sun never sets_

_No, we don't have to worry_

_Never in a hurry_

_One by one, the stars go to bed_

_All: And I step into the spotlight again_

_Can't help myself_

_I got to be where the lights are shining down on me_

_I wanna feel the sun_

_So turn that walk into a run_

_Gonna bring the party when I come_

_Sing it out if you wanna have some fun_

_And into the spotlight, we will go_

_Follow me cuz baby, life's a show_

_Into the spotlight, you will see_

_it's the only place to be_

_James: Ohh, the music's like a magnet_

_The best thing on the planet_

_It's pullin' us together again_

_Spencer: So, let's cause a commotion_

_Soundwaves on the ocean_

_Wake the moon and grab your best friend_

_Kendall: And let's step into the spotlight again_

_All: Can't help myself_

_I got to be where the lights are shining down on me_

_I wanna feel the sun_

_So turn that walk into a run_

_Gonna bring the party when I come_

_Sing it out if you wanna have some fun_

_And into the spotlight we will go_

_Follow me, cuz baby life's a show_

_Into the spotlight you will see_

_It's the only place to be_

_Turn it up!_

_Kendall: If you're downhearted_

_All: Let the music!_

_James: Get us started_

_Gotta let it go once in a while_

_All: Turn it up!_

_Spencer: There's nothin' to it!_

_All: When it's love!_

_Kendall: We'll just re-do it_

_Might as well have fun_

_Have fun in this life..._

_All: Can't help myself_

_I gotta be where the lights are shining down on me_

_I wanna feel the sun_

_So turn that walk into a run_

_Gonna bring the party when I come_

_Sing it out if you wanna have some fun_

_Can't help myself_

_I gotta be where the lights are shining down on me_

_I wanna feel the sun_

_So turn that walk into a run_

_Gonna bring the party when I come_

_Sing it out if you wanna have some fun_

_And into the spotlight we will go_

_Follow me, cuz baby life's a show_

_Into the spotlight you will see_

_It's the only place to be_

_Yeah, into the spotlight you will see_

_It's the only place for me..._

Everyone cheered and applauded for that performance and the spotlight shone on Musaki and Zeke as they're standing there, in a throng of crowds and all they did was smile and wave at them.

[LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem plays]

Yet another dance song starts playing and both Musaki and Zeke started dancing through the song and the entire crowd followed in on those moves they made and Kendall, James, Spencer followed suit as well as they danced throughout.

The rest of the kung-fu masters were dancing like they never danced before, even Tigress couldn't help but get into it, especially when she started taking in the breakdance/kung-fu moves, which surprised a lot of people because they never expected her to step out of her comfort zone a little.

Just then, loads of fireworks came out of the sky as random colors burst through and Musaki and Zeke jumped out of the stage and into the crowd as the music keeps going and everyone followed their leads, making an awesome dance sensation that kept everyone moving around a lot and when it was done...they stopped and took a second to look at the fireworks, enjoying each and every second of the birthday celebration.

As Musaki and Zeke were looking up, they were definitely looking forward to being 17 and what challenges rose ahead, but they know for a fact...they're really growing up. Shifu went up to both of them and asked, "What would you parents be if they saw you two enjoying your special day?"

They know the answer to that question already.

They both smiled and said in unison, "That they're proud of us growing up...just like they hoped we'd be."

Shifu nodded his head in agreement and added, "As are we."

They both looked behind and saw the kung-fu masters smiling at both of them on their special day and Po was the first one to say, "Happy birthday, Lil' Saki and Zeke."

"Now I'm excited about being 17." they both said, in unison.

* * *

And that's it! Wish Musaki and Zeke a very happy 17! And the song is 'Spotlight' from Hannah Montana. Also, imagine the dance scene with 'Party Rock Anthem' playing in your head! Well, this is AniUniverse saying, that's a wrap, folks! Till the new story!


End file.
